One problem encountered during shoveling is that it may be necessary to pick up a discrete object from a surface composed of smaller particulate matter. For example, when leveling sand for a layer of “pavers” (blocks of masonry used to construct a stone surface), a shovel user may notice a pebble or leaf that has blown onto the sand. After a windstorm, a large number of such minor bits of debris may be present. However, when attempting to shovel up such items, the user inevitably is left with a large quantity of the sand which is scooped up into the shovel scoop with the pebble or leaf.
A number of similar problems occur. Cleaning a beach or child's sand box, for example, may entail picking up broken glass or toys from among sand, preferably without the large quantity of sand which is inevitably scooped up with it. Cleaning a pet's “litter box” means picking up particularly noxious items from a matrix of small particles of litter. Picking up larger items from a bed of leaves, gravel or moss may pose similar problems.
One solution is a “sifter” type of filter device. A screen may be used to allow smaller particles to fall away while the items sought for removal are removed. This may be practical for certain limited applications and cases in which the user is willing to have a dedicated device having no use but filtering. However, such devices have a substantial disadvantage in that they are not useful for moving the filtered particles if that is needed, cannot be used to shovel and so on.
It would be advantageous to provide a device usable as both a shovel and a filter.